Body conscious (From The Northern Echo)

Body conscious

6:19pm Wednesday 18th January 2012 in Tonight's TV By Steve Pratt

Kate Thornton – Anorexic: My Secret Teens (Channel 5, 10pm)
How to Cook Like Heston (C4, 8pm)
Jonathan Meades on France (BBC4, 9pm)

WHEN it comes to TV presenting, Kate Thornton doesn’t always have the best of luck. She was unceremoniously dumped from The X Factor, and is no longer a member of the Loose Women team.

She never set out to have a career on the box, beginning her professional life as a journalist, starting with the Sunday Mirror before becoming a pop music columnist for its sister publication, the Daily Mirror.

From there, she became the youngestever editor of Smash Hits, and has also worked for The Sunday Times and Marie Claire.

Her TV career started with the ITV current affairs programme Straight Up, where her most notable achievement during her stint was using Elton John’s Candle in the Wind during a montage of images of Diana, Princess of Wales, on the day of her death. Some commentators believe it was that moment that inspired the subsequent link between the song and Diana.

Among her other shows have been Top of the Pops, Lads’ Army, Holiday and 71 Degrees North.

She also seems to be the picture of health – all glowing smiles, perfect hair and flawless skin. However, according to the documentary Kate Thornton – Anorexic: My Secret Teens, life wasn’t always so sweet for her.

Aged 11, she became anorexic and suffered for years. As she approaches her 40th birthday next year, she feels it’s time she came to terms with her troubled past.

She reveals she became obsessed with her weight after moving from primary school to secondary education. She felt dumpy and was teased about her weight, and what started as dieting turned into an obsessive mental illness that involved starving herself.

She is shocked to hear the amount of pain she caused her friends and family during this time, and also consults experts to find out the latest information and facts on anorexia.

She then meets those still living in its grip, taking particular interest in an 18- year-old who has begun the rocky road to recovery.

It is one of three programmes from Channel 5 about teen issues. The first focused on pregnancy and was hosted by Kym Marsh and the final one will feature Jodie Marsh, who deals with bullying.

YOU do not need a flask of liquid nitrogen and an industrial mixer to be able to cook like Heston Blumenthal.

What you do need, however, is a little patience, some imagination and a sense of adventure.

In this week’s How to Cook Like Heston, he tackles an ingredient close to many of our hearts – chocolate.

By using indirect heat and keeping away from moisture, gastronauts can work wonders.

Blumenthal has been a fan of popping candy since he was a kid, so there is no surprise to find that old staple being used as well in a passion fruit gateau with an exploding base.

Plus, there’s an amazing flowerpot tiramisu with edible chocolate soil.

He also whips up a surprising savoury main dish and turns dark chocolate into rich chocolate wine.

And don’t miss the moment when he uses a can of keyboard dust cleaner to shock-freeze melted chocolate into a pliable choc sculpture.

W HAT the French will make of new series Jonathan Meades on France (if they get a chance to see it) is anyone’s guess.

There is a rather stereotypical view of what our Gallic neighbours think of us, which makes us suspect they are not keen on seeing us Brits moving to their country, or even dropping by for a visit.

If that view turns out to be true, then they might not welcome writer and broadcaster Meades’ attempt to publicise parts of their country he feels are largely ignored by British tourists and deserve to be better known.

He begins in the North-East of France with a trip through Lorraine, a place regarded as a stronghold for a romantic kind of nationalism. He explores the area’s typography, music, engineering and urbanism, and discovers its locals are rather sensitive about their proximity to Germany.